More often than not, people automatically make guilty inferences from physical appearance despite little evidence for their accuracy. This has usually been extended to the criminal justice system. Wrongful convictions have therefore not been uncommon in our society and people who are culpable are sometimes exonerated. Sometimes it is not until innocent persons have finished their sentence or executed before their innocence is known. Research in legal psychology has thus, usually focused on physical characteristics and its impact on trustworthiness, and guilty decisions and severity of sentences. This paper systematically reviewed studies on the influence of physical characteristics on legal decisions so far. In addition, some recommendations have been proposed for further research based on gaps identified from our analysis.
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